How they used to do it

Back to Galloway

It had been around 25 years since I did Corserine in the Galloway hills. Last time I did it from Castlemaddy in late autumn and all I remember is rain and mist and the cold. This time I picked a nice day. A 50 minute drive through the first sub-zero temperatures and freezing fog took me to the start point in the Forest Estate. I didn’t realise it was owned by Fred Olsen, the Scandinavian shipping magnate.

The first issue was stalking. There was a big red sign up at the car park saying “Warning Stalking in Progress”. I wavered for a few minutes while putting on my boots then decided nothing ventured nothing gained and took off up the track towards Forebush.

Inside the gate of the lodge near the car park there is an interesting and colourful relic of World War 11. It is the vibrantly painted figurehead of a highlander from the vessel Black Watch. That ship plied between Britain and Norway until the outbreak of the war. The Germans took control of the ship when they invaded Norway and the Fleet Air Arm then sank it in a Norwegian fiord along with its sister ship. When the ship was salvaged the highlander was returned to Fred Olsen. He eventually decided to give it a suitable Scottish home in bonnie Galloway.

Wee Jock Poo Pong McPlop

No sooner had I started off again when I met someone coming down. Someone like me, overweight and sweating despite the mere 2 degree temperature. “Were you turned back by the stalkers?” I asked with trepidation “No, I got a migraine so no point continuing. Was here at 7 30 am, minus three on way here. Got to the tree line and discovered just before that the obvious path was the wrong one. Make sure you turn off right at the causeway over the burn. I’m off to watch Queens Park get beaten” answered the chap.

I pushed on, shivering in the cold shade of the trees. I noticed one thing as I made my way through the forest, a lot of money had been spent on it, in particular on signage. Many of the forest tracks were named after Scandinavians such as Birgir Natvig, Fred Olsen and, of course, Billy McLelland. I passed an eco-office, with a turfed roof and solar panels where the company was managed from.

Corserine

Once past Forebush the silence was complete, there was no one about and it remained that way for the rest of the day. The forest was just as I had first encountered it, gloomy and slightly spooky. I couldn’t put my finger on why it was spooky until I realised that it was the lack of bird song which made it totally silent, as if listening to you pass. Good signage indicated offshoots of the road to Lochs Harrow and Lumford. The road is worth a mention. It seems that since last winter it had been vastly improved, being raised by up to 8 feet in places, presumably for the commencement of logging. It must have cost millions, the best forest road I have ever been on. I wished I had brought my bike, however, although now carefully levelled off, it was still quite steep in places. Eventually I reached the tree line and the stile over the deer fence, having spotted the none too obvious right turn into the trees. A faint path led up the right hand side of the corrie. Without too much effort the ridge was gained and a couple of cairns pointed the way to the summit of Corserine at the back. The weather was clear, although hazier than the day before, when I was on Arran and could see the Trossachs and beyond. The summit had both a cairn and a trig point. Merrick dominated the 360 degree view , with all of the Galloway hills in view, as well as Glentrool.

The Merrick from Corserine

I continued on to neighbouring Carlin’s Cairn. I had seen a herd of what looked like white, brown and black goats from Corserine and as I got closer, I realised I was not wrong. You could smell them before you could see them just beyond the skyline. I managed to get within around 30 feet before they edged away.

A few of the 50 odd smelly Goats Scruff

Carlin’s Cairn has quite a big cairn but certainly not the biggest in the world. As I studied the map, I realised that the next hill along and to the North was named Goats Craig. Perhaps the Goats were on holiday. As I sat at the cairn I looked up Castlemaddy on the map. In the intervening years the forest had been cut down around it and now it was plainly visible in the distance. It used to be an outdoor centre owned by Dumfries & Galloway Scouts and I used to go for weekends there. We once cycled to it from Dumfries for our Duke of Edinburgh’s award expedition.

Castlemaddy (Centre) from Carlin's Cairn

I retraced my route without event and made my way ever more wearily back down through the forest. I took a short detour up an unmarked track to look at the dam on Loch Harrow. Again, total silence and solitude and disuse. Part of the forestry had been flooded by the dam, the trees dying in situ. If you want to know what the world will be like with no one in it any more, then this is the place to come.

Loch Harrow

Back at the car I noticed even more signs had been put up during the day, this time giving directions for the DA Autopart’s Solway Coast Rally see here, A stage to be held there the next day. I then realised I had been over concerned about disturbing the deer!

Little Chamonix

Little Chamonix is a rock climb on Shepherds Crag in Borrowdale in the Lake District. I was dragged up it when I was about 18 by a real climber. I was walking around Lake Derwentwater recently when I saw the crag from a distance for the first time in over 20 years. It was much higher than I remembered. There were two climbers on it. The leader had reached the end of the second pitch and was belaying his climbing partner while straddling a slab. The final pitch is very exposed but straightforward. You really feel the height and I still remember the satisfaction of pulling over the final lip onto the grass. It is graded "V Diff" so its a good one for the inexperienced but at 230 feet high its quite a challenge for those who suffer from vertigo.

Suilven, the Grey Castle

Above:Evening sun on Suilven from Achmelvich campsite

Above: A 180 degree panorama from the summit of Suilven

Above: Billy about to twist his ankle

Above: Suilven from 5 miles away near the start of the walkin at Glen Canisp Lodge

Suilven dominates its surroundings. An "Inselberg" island of sedimentary Torridonian Old Red Sandstone surrounded by a sea of metamorphic Lewisian Gneiss. This sandstone was laid down by rivers originating in what is now Greenland and Canada directly on top of the gneiss. Over millions of years the sandstone has been eroded away by glacial ice leaving the slightly harder rocks of Suilven behind, presumably tougher due to a localised quartzite layer near the now summit.
It is a 5 mile walk in to either side followed by a very steep pull up to the ridge. The path is good but eroded in places. Rocks dislodged by those above could be an issue. This path is especially hard work on a hot day. The section of ridge to the summit involves some easy but exposed scrambling. Not the place to twist your ankle eh Billy?
Suileag bothy is on the way in to the northern side and is a fine building with arguably the best view of all bothies.

Above: Gryff Rhys-Jones did this bit in the snow. Big drops either side.

Achmelvich

Achmelvich is one of the nicest places I have ever been. The hot weather helped. If you like white sand, turquoise ocean, spectacular views of the north western highlands, fabulous sunsets and swimming in sub zero seas, then Achmelvich is the place to go. It has a wonderful campsite with hot showers and even its own tea time chip shop but it was closed when we were there.

Hill Quiz

OK so called hill buffs name these hills. For a bonus point, where was the photograph taken from?

Last Munro....again

I retraced the walk of my last munro of June 2007 yesterday in good weather. What a difference. The views from the summit of Stob na Broige were superb.